Cost Calculator: KRAS Mutation

KRAS Mutation

New molecularly targeted chemotherapy drugs are highly effective in certain cancer patients but can cost tens of thousands of dollars per course of treatment. Laboratory testing to identify which patients will benefit from a particular drug and which ones will not can save a tremendous amount of money. It can also allow patients near the end of life not to waste precious time and emotional energy on an ineffective course of treatment.

Cetuximab (Erbitux®), which is used for treating metastatic colorectal cancer, has been found to be effective in 20 to 50 percent of patients with the wild-type KRAS gene, but in zero percent of patients with a mutated form of KRAS. Cetuximab should therefore only be used in patients found to have wild-type KRAS.

Chart Data

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Cost Information

Cost of One Round
of Chemo (Cetuximab):
($US)
Cost of KRAS-Mutation Detection:
($US)
Patient Population:
Likelihood of KRAS Mutation:
(%)

Results

Total Cost of Chemotherapy with KRAS Testing

Total Cost of Chemotherapy with KRAS Testing

Cost of chemo
without KRAS testing:
$160,000,000.00
Cost of chemo
with KRAS testing:
$96,000,000.00
Cost of Testing:
$400,000.00
Potential Savings:
$63,600,000.00

References

Shrag D. The price tag on progress—chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med 2004;351(4):317–9. PMID: 15269308

Aspinall M. Personalized medicine and pathology: friend or foe? Arch Pathol Lab Med 2009;133(4):527–8. PMID: 19391644

FDA Adds KRAS Testing Info to Vectibix, Erbitux Labels

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